Hey ladies, did you know that you have one hormone that is more important than all the others? One hormone that can make or break your chances of becoming pregnant and staying that way. One hormone that controls so much of your hormone puzzle that I would claim it to be one of the MOST important hormones that our body makes for fertility.
What is that hormone you ask, drum roll please….
Progesterone
Progesterone is really important when trying to conceive because it helps the body to prepare the endometrium for the potential of pregnancy after ovulation. It triggers the lining to thicken and to accept a fertilized egg. It also prohibits the muscle contractions in the uterus that would cause the body to reject an egg.
Progesterone works together with estrogen to boost fertility and to aid in having a viable pregnancy. While estrogen is the building hormone, progesterone is the maintaining hormone. (think “pro-gestation” hormone). It helps to maintain the uterine lining to keep your pregnancy going solid.
It also keeps you calm through neurogenic effects, develops your mammary glands for lactation, reduces cervical mucus production, keeps the endometrium lining ready for the fertilized egg and so much more. Those are just a few of the things this super hormone does. As you can see, it is very important to have balanced levels of both progesterone and estrogen.
So how do you know if your levels are low? What symptoms will you experience? Many of my clients claim they have headaches or migraines. mood changes, including anxiety or depression. irregularity in menstrual cycle and those are just a few of the main ones. There could be a whole host of other problems and low progesterone could be to blame.
Want to know for sure
You can always get an at-home test and test your levels right in the comfort of your own home. Many women want to go straight to their doctors however many doctors won’t test for this hormone unless you specifically ask and if they do and you fall in the “normal” range will tell you, your levels are normal even if they are on the low side. I am not knocking doctors however I know for me, when I was struggling with infertility mine wouldn’t listen. I was diagnosed with “unexplained infertility” which if my doctor would have dug a little deeper, she might have learned the cause and saved me years of heartache. I am urging you, take your health into your own hands and don’t guess, test.
What happens now? You tested and you have low progesterone…
The easiest way to increase your progesterone levels is through whole food nutrition and lifestyle.
Check out my favourite 4 recipes to increase your progesterone here.
Kela Smith
KRS Coaching International
Coach Kela battled infertility for over 2 years until she got very intentional in the kitchen and reversed her own infertility naturally. Now she teaches other women to do the same in her hormone puzzle method class and through her books.
She is a mom of two little boys ages 4 and 6 and lives in Nashville, TN, along with her husband of 11 years. Her blog helps women all over the world with infertility and hormone issues.
